1. North Carolina A&T State University
Blackboard Support
Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 1
Adding a Course Link
Once instructors determine which course areas will appear in the course menu (see
Manage Course Menu tutorial), various content sections can be added to each
course area. Instructors can use Items, Folders, External Links, Course Links, and
Learning Units to build a course.
Items, Folders, External Links, Course Links, and Learning Units can be added to
any course content area. Instructors may add these content sections by accessing
the content area through the Control Panel or by using the Quick Edit tool, which
can be found in the top right corner of each course content area.
Choosing a Content Area
1. Open a course that you are teaching.
2. Choose a Content Area that will house the content. (For example, instructions
for Chapter 1 may be placed in a Chapter 1 Folder under Course Materials.
Course Materials would be the Content Area.)
Option 1
If you access the Content Area by clicking a button on the left side of the
course, click the desired content area button and then click the Edit View link in
the right corner at the top.
Option 2
If you choose to access the Content Area through the Control Panel, enter the
Control Panel.
Under Content Areas, click the desired content area.

2. 3. If you have accessed the Content Area using the Edit View link, you will
continue to see buttons on the left, editing options in the center, and a Display
View
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link on the right side.
The Edit View and Display View links allow you to switch between the “editing
view” and the “students’ view”. You can also click the content area button to
switch to the “students’ view” of the course material.
If you have accessed the Content Area using the Control Panel, you will only
see the editing options at the top.
Adding a Course Link
A Course Link will link the student to a content item within the course. (For example,
if the assignment directs the students to participate in a discussion thread, instructors
can add a link directly to the discussion board.) Students can be linked to any content
area within the course. The content must be created before you can create the
course link. Course Links can be added to any content area and can stand alone or
be placed inside folders or learning units.
Once the content area has been selected (see the Choosing a Content Area section
above), a menu bar will be provided.

3. 1. To add a Course Link to a folder or learning unit, the folder or learning unit
must be opened first.
To open a folder or learning unit, click the name of the folder or learning unit.
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Once the folder has been opened, the name of the folder or learning unit will
appear at the top. (This will be an indication that the course link will appear
inside the folder or learning unit).
Course links can also stand alone. They can be placed directly in a content
area, outside a folder or learning unit.
2. To add a Course Link (outside a folder or learning unit), select the Course
Link icon from the menu bar.

4. 3. The Add Item page will appear for the Course Link.
4. Under Section 1, you will add the Course Link Information.
5. Under Name, you will determine the name of the Course Link. You can (1)
choose a name from the drop-down menu OR (2) enter the name that you
desire.
If you choose to select a name from the drop-down menu, click the down error
to see a list of the preset names for the course link. Select a name.
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5. If you choose to enter a customized name for the course link (Example: Unit I
Lecture Notes), type the information in the text box.
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Information in the text box will override any name selected from the drop-down
menu.
6. You can customize the color of the Name by clicking the Pick button. The
default color is Black.
7. After you click the Pick button, a Color Picker window will appear. (This
window may not appear if your pop-up blocker is on. Set your computer to
temporarily allow pop-ups.)
To select a color for the course link name, click the square of the desired color.
8. The selected color will now appear in the color square beside the Pick button.
9. Text can be included with this course link. For example, if your Course Link is
to a set of notes, you can add a description of the notes for the students.
Instructions or directions for these notes could also be provided in the text area.
Information can be cut and pasted from a Microsoft Word document.

6. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 6
Helpful Tip
To expand the options for editing text, click the down arrows to display
additional options for the text editor.
Helpful Tip
Instructors can format text and attach images, video clips, sound files,
hyperlinks, tables, and mathematical equations to the course link by clicking
the icons in the text editor.
10. Under Section 2, click the Browse button to determine the destination for the
link.

7. 11. After Browse has been clicked, a Course Map that lists all of the Content Areas
within the course will be displayed. Click the Expand All link to display any additional
content located within each content area button/folder.
To link to a Content Area, select an item by double-clicking the item.
Content
Areas
The location of the Course Link will appear in the Location field.
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8. 12. Under Section 3, additional options can be added to the course link.
Make the content available: Once Yes is selected, students will have access
to the course link. The Default option is Yes. If No is selected, the course link
will be available to the instructor, but not the students.
Track number of views: Tracks the number of times users access the course
link. Statistics can be found under Course Statistics (under the Control Panel).
The Default option is No.
Choose date restrictions: Instructors may add date restrictions if a course
link is expected to appear on a specific date and disappear on a specific date.
(This section is optional. If no restrictions are applied, the course link will follow
the selection made under Make the course link available.) To apply date
restrictions, click the Display After box and the Display Until box. Select a
date and time for each item.
13. After the details for the Course Link have been added, click Submit. Click OK
to acknowledge receipt of the course link.
14. The Course Link will now appear in the content area. To modify, copy, or
remove this item, choose the appropriate option.
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Helpful Tip
The Course Link will be visible to students only if the instructor makes it
available to the students. Under the course link Options section, if the
instructor chooses No under Make the course link available, the course link
will not be available to students. Setting date restrictions will also determine
whether the course link is available to students.